Can-sealing machine



Mar. 20, 1923. 1,449,325

' M. E. JOHNSTON ET AL CAN SEALING MACHINE Filed July 14, 1920 5 sheets-sheet l a H IIIIiTgI j g mes 0. fo/mslail M l v ATTORNEYS Mar. 20, 1923.

M. E. JOHNSTON ET AL CAN SEALING MACHINE Filed July 14, 1920 I 5 sheets-sheet 2 #5151; all

Wyn/me fins/MHZ)? im/4 5 U. ja/i/z Y WITNESSES A TTORAIEVS Mar. 20, 1923. 1,449,325

- M. E. JOHNSTON ET AL CAN SEALING MACHINE Filed July 14, 1920 5 sheets-sheep 5 A TTOH/VEYS Patented Mar. 20, 1923."

MARSHALL ELLSWORTH JOHNSTON AND JAMES OTIS JOHNSTON, OF TROUTMANS, NORTH CAROLINA.

CAN-SEALING MACHINE.

Application filed July 14,

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, Mans-inane E. Jones TON and JAMES O. JoirNs'roN, citizens of the United States, and residents of Troutmans,

in the county of Iredell and State of North Carolina, have invented a new and Improved. Can-Sealing Machine, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to improvements in can sealing machines, and more particularly to a hand operated sealing machine, an object of the invent-ion being to provide a machine of the character stated which can be manufactured and sold at a reasonably low price, which will be relatively small and compact, and which will most efficiently seal the cans in a sanitary manner.

A further object is to provide a machine of the character stated in which the can is stationary and clamped between a base plate and a stationary seaming chuck and provide an improved construction of rotary head carrying seaming rolls and operated in a novel manner to perform the sealing operation.

Vith these and other objects in view the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts, as will be more fully hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings- Figure 1 is'a view in side elevation illustrating our improved machine in operative position;

Fig. 2 is an elevation at right angles to Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view; Fig. at is a view in transverse section on the line 11- of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a view in vertical section on the line 55 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 illustrating the parts in different positions.

A represents a supporting frame which is composed of a frame base 1, uprights 2 and a crossbar 3' secured on the uprights. This frame base 1 is provided with a clamp 5 .to secure the same to a table or other support The frame base 1 is made with a guide post 7' on which a cam lever 8 has rotary or partial rotary mounting and this cam. lever supports a base plate 8 adapted to receive the lower end. of a can 9 and clamp the can.

1920. Serial No. 396,239.

between said base plate 8' and a seaming chuck 10.

The cam lever 8 has cam surfaces 8 and 8 which engage the cam surfaces 7 and 7" on the frame base 1, so that when the cam lever is turned the base plate 8 is raised to clamp the can as described.

The seaming chuck 10 is supported on the screw threaded lower end 11 of a rod 12, the latter secured in the center of the crossbar 3 by means of a nut 13 screwed onto the threaded upper end 14 of'the rod. This rod 12 provides mounting for our improved rotary head, the latter consisting of a supporting plate 15, a roll carrying plate 16 below the latter, a cam link 17 on top of the plate 15 operated by a cam 18 mounted to turn around a tubular post 19 integral with or fixed to the plate 15 and on this post 19 a pair of nested bevelled gears 20 and 21 are located, the former mounted to turn freely on the tubular post and the latter keyed to turn therewith.

The parts referred to in the above paragraph constitute the essential elements of my improved rotary head and the latter is preferably made ball bearing by the inser tion of ball bearings 22 between the rod 12 and the portions of the head adjacent thereto.

The cam 18, above referred to, is provided with a central recess 23 for the accommodation of a hub 24 on the bevelled gear 20, and a spring locking pin 25 is mounted in a cylindrical casing 26 secured to the cam and said locking pin is adapted to spring into a socket 27 in the hub 24L to lock the gear 20 and the cam together.

The cam link 17 is secured to the roll carrying plate 16 by means of headed screws 28 which are projected through slots 29 in the supporting plate 15 and other headed screws 30 are screwed into the plate 16 and extend through slots 31 in the plate 15 and are provided. wit-h disks 32 held against the plate 15 by coiled springs 33 so as to exert the necessary spring tension and give the rolls a somewhat elastic engagement with the can as will more fully hereinafter appear.

Rolls 34 are secured by journal bolts 35 to the plate 16. These journal bolts extend through slots 36 in the plate, 15 and are provided with slot covering plates 35. The

arrangement of bolts and slots is to permit of the varying movements of the plate 16 relative to the plate 15, such varying movements being caused by the action of the cam 18 and link 17 as will be described.

The rolls 34 are preferably of the grooved reversible type and may have any desired form of mounting in connection with the journal bolts 35 so that they can be reversed, removed and replaced.

A journal 37 which is in the form of an arm, extends at right angles to the bar 3 and provides rotary mounting for a sleeve 38 having a crank arm 39 thereon to turn the same and a cotter-pin or other suitable device 10 holds the sleeve 38 in operative position on the journal 37 A beveled pinion 11 having relatively wide beveled teeth is in relatively loose mesh with the pair of beveled gears QOand 21 and while the teeth of the beveled gears are radially positioned, the outer or larger beveled gear 20 is provided with an increased number of teeth over that of the beveled gear 21 so that the gear 21 receives a more rapid drive than the gear 20, although they are operated by the same pinion. This action of the pinion, with the pair of beveled gears is permitted first because the connection is a somewhat loose one and second, because the teeth of the meshing gears are beveled and have a certain amount of cam action and the rotary motion of the pinion manually operated by the crank arm 39 will cause the beveled gears 20 and 21 to turn in the same direction but at slightly different speed.

As above stated, the beveled gear 20 is locked to the cam 18 by reason of the pin 27, and hence this rotary motion of the gear 20 will impart a lateral or radial movement to the link 17 and through the medium of the latter, the roll carrying plate 16 will be caused to move radially, thus bringing these rolls 34 toward and away from the axis of the head. The head 15 is revolved by the beveled gear 21 so that the motion imparted to the head as an entirety is a rotary one, and as the head revolves the two rolls 34 are moved inwardly by the cam 18 and link 17 to cause them to operate successively to carry out and complete the beading action on the can. In other words, one roll engaging the can bends the overlapping edge 42 of the can. top initially and the engagement of the second roll completes the seaming or beading operation.

It is to be understood that the parts are so turned that the rolls are held inwardly until the seaming is finished, when they will be moved outwardly away from the can.

The operation is as follows: The can 9 to be seamed in placed on the base plate 8 and the lever 8 given a partial turning movement limited by one of the uprights 2 to elevate the can and to clamp the upper end thereof against the seaming chuck 10 and rigidly holding said can against movement. The operator then turns the pinion. 11 by means of the crank arm 39 and rotary motion is imparted to the pair of beveled gears 20 and 21, the latter imparting a rotary motion to the supporting plate 15 and the former imparting a rotary motion to the cam 18 to move the link 17 and cause the roll supporting plate 16 to move radially to bring the rolls 3 1 into seaming engagement with the can and com lete the seaming operation and then move away from the can to permit the latter to be removed.

It will thus be noted that with our improved machine, the can is securely clamped and held against movement and rotary mo tion is imparted to the head, the latter carryin the seaming rolls which are caused to move toward and away from the can to complete the seaming operation.

Various slight changes might be made in the general form and arrangement of parts described without departing from the invention, and hence we do not limit ourselves to the precise details set forth, but consider ourselves at liberty to make such changes and alterations as fairly fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a can seaming machine, a slotted revoluble supporting plate, a roll support below the plate, means for mounting the roll support slidably on the supporting plate, seaming rolls mounted in the support, a cam, means for rotating the cam at less speed than the supporting plate, a cam link above the supporting plate and encircling the cam, and a pin-like member secured to the link and roll support and working in the slot of the supporting plate.

2. In a can seaming machine, a rotary supporting plate, a radially movable roll support, means for yieldingly mounting the said support on the supporting plate, seaming rolls mounted on the support, a cam, means for rotating the cam at less speed than the supporting plate, a cam link encircling the cam, and means for securing the link to the roll support.

3. In a can seaming machine, a tubular revolnble post, a supporting plate carried by the post, a roll carrying plate slidably mounted under the said plate, seaming rolls carried by said plate, a cam mounted on the post above the supporting plate, a cam link encircling the cam and means for securing the link to the roll carrying plate, and means rotating the supporting plate and cam at different rates of speed.

i. In a can seaming machine, a tubular rotary post, a slotted supporting plate carried by the post, a rol carrying plate below the supporting plate and slidably mounted thereon, seaming rolls mounted in the roll carrying plate and having their shafts movable in the slots of the supporting plate, a cam mounted on the post to turn therewith, a cam link encircling the cam, means for securing the link to the roll carrying plate, and means for rotating the cam and supporting plate at different speeds.

5. A can seaming machine, comprising a base plate, a chuck, means for moving one of said parts to clamp a can between them, a rod on the chuck, a tubular post having rotary mounting on the rod, a supporting plate carried by the post, a roll carrying plate under the supporting plate and movably connected therewith, rolls on the lastmentioned plate, a cam mounted to turn on the post, a cam link engaged by the cam and operatively connected to the roll carrying plate, a pair of beveled gear wheels, one of said gear wheels operatively connected to the post and the other to the cam, and a single driving beveled pinion meshing with both of said beveled gear wheels.

6. A can seaming machine, comprising a base plate, a chuck, means for moving one of said parts to clamp a can between them, a rod on the chuck, a tubular post having rotary mounting on the rod, a supporting plate carried by the post, a roll carrying plate under the supporting plate and movably connected therewith, rolls on the lastmentioned plate, a cam mounted to turn on the post, a cam link engaged by the cam and operatively connected to the roll-carrying plate, a pair of beveled gear wheels, one of said gear wheels operatively connected to the post and the other to the cam, and a single driving beveled pinion meshing with both of said beveled gear wheels, one of said bevelecl gear wheels having a greater number of teeth than the other of said beveled gear wheels.

7. A can seaming machine, comprising can supporting means, a rotary head, seaming rolls on the head, a pair of nested beveled gears, one of said gears operating to turn the head and the other of said gears operating to move the rolls radially of the head, and a single driving beveled pinion having one set of teeth and meshing with both of said gear wheels, one of said gear wheels having a greater number of teeth than the other of said gear wheels.

8. In acan seaming machine, apost, apair of nested beveled gears mounted on the post, one to turn with the post and the other to turn freely thereon, the gears having a different number of teeth, and a single beveled pinion having teeth of a length equal to the combined length of the teeth of the nested gears and meshing with both of the said nested pinions.

MARSHALL ELLSWORTH JOHNSTON. JAMES OTIS JOHNSTON. 

